I plan to visit Paris from 2-5 May 2022.
I’m terrible afraid of getting lost and I wanted to ask, if maybe anyone has a whole day and wants to spend the day with me, visiting Versailles? I badly want to see the Hall of Mirrors.
I’m not easy to handle:
I want to take pictures of everything
I want to buy many, many cards, so I really need to check out every place that I see on my way
I’m always hungry
I need a break to sit down
I also want to visit Père Lachaise, the Catacombs and the Louvre. So maybe anyone wants to do these things instead but not Versailles? Or maybe someone just wants to hang out some hours and introduce me to a nice coffeehouse/restaurant which is not a tourist trap?
Or. Maybe you only want to give me a few hints for things that I must do or visit?
I remember there’s always a very long queue waiting for Catacombes. I gave up twice.
You have to go there early (1 hour before opening), or better book an e-ticket in advance (like i did on third attempt .
Have a nice visit.
I just want to wish you well for your vacation Anita!
It sounds marvellous and if I did not live thousands of kilometres away…I’d join you in a heartbeat!
I visited Paris in 2014, to run the Paris Marathon. We went everywhere we could on foot…toting a MASSIVE map with us everywhere . I remember standing somewhere near Notre Dame on a street corner, turning the map in circles, and trying to work out where to go and a wonderful Parisian approached and helped us on our way.
We caught a train from…somewhere near our hotel to Versailles, bought the entry ticket near where we jumped off the train and had the most amazing day! We visited pretty much every corner of the grounds, hired bikes and did a lap on those too. I loved it!
I did not visit the Catacombs. I will be honest, I have never heard of them. But I will go now and read about them, and add them to my list of things to do when I next get there!
Enjoy! And if you ever make it to Canberra, Australia…let me know. I’d love to go take millions of photos with you, show you all the places to buy postcards and all the places to eat too !
Maybe it’s a good thing to buy online tickets for everything that is a must-see for me! At the same time this makes me a but un-flexible but I don’t really want to waste my time waiting in lines in Paris!
Thank you so much for this important recommendation, that I didn’t think of at all!
The tube entrance to the Louvre is always the quietist for buying tickets on the day, but it’s still very busy.
The Versailles queue was also very long and was in the middle of summer, so I got very badly sunburned lol! It’s very hard to get lost in Versailles, because it’s just a straight walk from the train station and the vast majority of people are heading towards it anyway - we just stuck with the crowd.
I think yesterday I lost all my abilities to navigate through a foreign city. I’m not afraid of getting lost in Versailles, but on my way from Paris, eg taking the wrong train and so on…
The fastest (only 10/15 minutes) is from Saint Lazare station, but then you have a bit of walk to reach the Castle. It goes to the station called Versailles Rive Droite (there are 3 stations in Versailles : Versailles Rive Droite, Versailles Chantiers, and the RER station which is Versailles Rive Gauche).
Versailles has very big avenues and you don’t really get lost.
Another way is to take the RER C (RER is a train dedicated to the surburbs of Paris that goes also inside the city of Paris). It’s a quite long travel (about 3/4 of an hour) and you can take it from the center of Paris (Saint Michel for example) and it let you nearer the castle, at Versailles Rive Gauche station.
You say you want to see the Glass Gallery.
Don’t miss also the Marie Antoinette house, and this very nice long alley that is called allée des moutons (sheeps alley), with sheeps, goats and horses. You can even have a picnic there. It’s enchanting during spring. But it requires a bit of walk (there is also a little train inside the park to shorten the distances). But maybe it’s for another time, as the place is rather huge.
There are several boutiques to buy postcards on the domain of Versailles.
I’ve been there in 2015 (as well as in Versailles, that I didn’t like that much…). One tip: the catacombs you don’t leave in the same place where you enter. No one told me this and I was a bit lost for a minute or 2. At the exit there was a shop with souvenirs with funny postcards.
Like it has been said: try to buy the tickets before the day or go early, REALLY early. I’ve tried to go there in other trips to Paris but never could enter, the tickets sell out quickly and the queus are endless. But it’s worth to wait, it was nice to do the circuit underground, it’s not claustrophobic or scary.
If you are interested in cemeteries like Père Lachaise, in Lisbon we have Prazeres Cemetery (btw, Prazeres means Pleasures ). It’s a bit more messy (like us ) but very interesting!!! And it has a nice view over our red bridge and the Tagus river, plus it’s where our most famous Electric 28 ends. end of promoting Lisbon
I risk to say you won’t get lost, Paris is huge but the means of transportation are easy to read and people are nice, you can ask for help, surely you’ll easily find someone speaking English.
My favorite spots in Paris: to see Paris from the Sacré Coeur, the street artists in Montmartre area (Place du Tertre) and the Quartier Latin area.
Thank you for your kind explanation!
I already had a look online. I really don’t like to book tickets in advance, but I think it’s a good idea. I assume I will do the “fine” planning in April, closer to my planned arrival.
Just right now I checked ticket prices for the TGV.
From what I understand, it is even mandatory to have a ticket by advance, you will have to choose a specific hour (time slot).
Another thing to consider although things can change (it’s becoming complicated to follow) : there is the sanitary pass to enter in places such as museums, restaurants, cafés, etc. (Versailles included). Make sure you are ok with all this. Maybe the consulate of France in your country can give you informations on all this, and also it may change.
When I’m closer to departure, I have to re-check put from my understanding the sanitary pass only wants to confirm your vaccination, your recovery or that you are tested?
I’m so afraid to give bad infos I’d rather not answer! Just giving litttle bits of infos.
Things are changing fast and may change again.
From the 14/03 : no masks required except in public transportation
Vaccinal pass is finished (it’s a more strict version of the sanitary pass, but I don’t know in details what it is!).
Sanitary pass remains mandatory for some specific cases as hospitals.
I don’t have a link in english.
Please, see the consulate or the french embassy in Vienna, they probably give infos about the situation for tourists.
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. I remember standing somewhere near Notre Dame on a street corner, turning the map in circles, and trying to work out where to go and a wonderful Parisian approached and helped us on our way.
!
). It’s a bit more messy (like us 
